China News Agency, Beijing, August 18 (Reporter Chen Su) This year, China’s floods in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River have been severe and have adversely affected rice production. On the 18th, the disaster assessment results announced by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China showed that although the rice in the disaster area was affected to varying degrees, it is still expected to achieve a bumper harvest in the disaster year.
Since the flood season this year, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River have entered the plum blossoms early and lasted for a long time. Heavy floods have occurred in some areas. The occurrence of floods has coincided with a critical period for rice production. After the disaster, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs organized a rice expert group to conduct field investigations to assess the impact of the disaster and guide the recovery of production after the disaster.
Wang Ge, deputy director of the National Agricultural Technology Center, said that from field visits and investigations, this year’s flooding areas were relatively concentrated. Early rice was the worst affected. One-season mid-season rice and double-season late rice were also affected to varying degrees. However, due to the expansion of planting area and technical guarantee Enhancement and other factors, rice is expected to achieve a bumper harvest in the disaster year.
From the perspective of early rice production, flood disasters caused early rice fields in some areas to be harvested in time, and yields were affected to a certain extent. However, this year's early rice planting area has increased significantly, laying a solid foundation for the stability of total output. According to the survey, the area of early rice in Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangdong and Guangxi has increased significantly this year, an increase of about 4.7 million mu compared to 2019. During the survey, various localities responded that although the area affected by early rice was relatively large this year, the area affected by the disaster and the area with no harvest were much smaller.
From the perspective of mid-season rice production, although floods have delayed the growth of some mid-season rice in the south and cannot dry the fields in time, which is not conducive to the establishment of high-yield groups, the current mid-season rice is in the seedling stage and has a large leeway in the later period. As long as no major natural disasters occur in the later period, the yield per unit area And total production is expected to be the same as last year.
From the perspective of late rice production, flood disasters caused part of the late rice seedling fields to be flooded, and the quality of the seedlings was deviated, which was not conducive to the stable and high yield of late rice. However, there are also favorable factors in late rice production such as increased planting area and sufficient technical reserves. As long as field management measures are in place, a bumper harvest in late rice production is guaranteed.
Wang Ge said that China has a vast territory and vast territory, and disasters are often regional and phased. The damage to one region or one crop does not mean a reduction in production throughout the year and the whole country. In recent years, with the improvement of science and technology, the comprehensive production capacity of rice has been continuously improved, and the ability to resist natural disasters has been continuously enhanced. As long as the countermeasures are in place and the remedial techniques are appropriate, a bumper harvest can also be achieved in a disaster year. (Finish)